As far as wine regions go, France’s Beaujolais is one that has, for many years, been a popular choice for those who enjoy light-bodied, fruit-forward reds from Gamay grapes. However, that’s beginning to shift as the popularity of its sibling grape, Chardonnay, grows.
To put the region into numbers, of the wines produced in Beaujolais, 4% are whites coming from around 450 producers, equating to roughly 2.3 million bottles from the Beaujolais appellation and 930,000 from Beaujolais Villages, according to Beaujolais Nouvelle Génération 2023 data. Despite the small percentage of white or blanc produced in terms of the wider region, the style is growing in popularity and making use of its roots – which have been down for a long time.
Wine writer and educator Victoria Daskal says: “Chardonnay is a grape that has been in the Beaujolais region for a long time as Beaujolais is part of Burgundy overall, so there’s always been plantings of Chardonnay. But it’s always been used in (sparkling) wines such as a Crémant de Bourgogne, so they would sell it off to make something else, rather than using it as a white wine of the region. What’s been interesting is that, even though the plantings are quite small, for a number of reasons producers are now making and bottling Beaujolais Blanc, even though the region has never been known for this.”
Blanc’s proposition
Beaujolais’ positioning on clay-limestone soils makes it the perfect location for producing Chardonnay, despite Gamay being its driver for some time. Producers and consumers equally are seeing the value in the white wines the region has to offer, tapping into the evolving market for this style. Beaujolais comprises 12 AOCs, including the two regional appellations (Beaujolais and Beaujolais Villages) and 10 crus (Brouilly, Côte de Brouilly, Régnié, Morgon, Chiroubles, Fleurie, Moulin-à-Vent, Chénas, Juliénas and Saint-Amour).
To meet the current needs of consumers and the move towards white wines from the region, “increasing the production of Beaujolais whites has become a strategic challenge”, says Bertrand Chatelet, director of SICAREX Beaujolais, in Inter Beaujolais’ handbook, Beaujolais: Expressions of a Vineyard. “Chardonnay, which shares the same parents as Gamay, is a grape variety capable of adapting to the diversity of the vineyard soils. That results in a wide range of wine expressions.”
Beaujolais producer Château de Corcelles is one of many making the most of what the terroir has to offer. With nine centuries of history, Château de Corcelles is located in the heart of the Beaujolais crus. Its winemaker, Sébastien Kargul, who is also vice president of Inter Beaujolais, says: “More people are now planting [for] white wine and there is this crisis in Beaujolais where, in order to get more consumers, we need to present much more diversity. We know that Chardonnay on clay and limestone will give something that works well in our market and with young consumers that are looking for these kinds of wine.
“Where we are in the north, when we are planting and replacing old Gamay grapes, we reflect on what kind of grape we can put back in – for example, should it be Gamay or something else? We often decide to plant Chardonnay. Over the past three to five years, much more white has been consumed instead of red wine,” Kargul continues.
Château de Corcelles is producing around 3 million bottles of Beaujolais blanc, representing between 500ha and 600ha of Chardonnay, as Kargul adds the “goal in 10 years is to increase to maybe nine or 10 million bottles (of blanc)”.
In terms of where the demand for this lies, Kargul says: “The US is a very big market for white, Burgundian wine and they have discovered more Beaujolais white. Some markets, such as Finland, Norway and Sweden, are the main markets for us in terms of Beaujolais Blanc today. We are also looking to sell more in the UK.”
The cru question
As it currently stands, in terms of crus in Beaujolais, producers are not allowed to make a Beaujolais Blanc cru, it is only possible in red wine, but some are starting to question this. At the moment, says Kargul: “We have a Brouilly cru which is the widest cru of Beaujolais, roughly 1,200ha. However, around the crus there are some areas which are composed of clay and limestone soils. We are thinking about the potential of asking to obtain a Brouilly appellation in white and those areas which are located close by. Another idea is to focus on some Beaujolais areas (in the south) and look at Pierres Dorées. To identify a small area of Pierres Dorées will give a superior appellation of Beaujolais.” The Pierres Dorées region, also known as the ‘golden stones’ area or ‘little Tuscany’ colloquially, is situated between Lyon and Villefranche-sur-Saône, offering a diversity of soils in the south of Beaujolais.
Sonja Geoffray, winemaker at Château Thivin, which produces two Beaujolais Blanc wines, including its Clos de Rochebonne in the Pierres Dorées, says in terms of a cru for this category “I think it would be nice to have one specific cru appellation for Chardonnay and for me that would be Pierres Dorées. The clay limestone, along with vineyards which are a bit higher, make fresh, easy drinking Chardonnay. Gamay is not really happy in this terroir. My opinion would be to focus on a white cru appellation but I’m not sure if that’s going to happen.”
Highlighting blanc
While the debate for a Beaujolais Blanc cru is still ongoing, producers are leaning into the recognition the style is receiving and reflecting that on the bottles. Typically, the term ‘Beaujolais Blanc’ hasn’t always been used in the labelling as those in the north of the region, for example, could label it Mâcon due to location, and it being more recognisable by consumers as synonymous with Burgundy Chardonnay. However, producers are now highlighting Beaujolais Blanc in its own right. Daskal says: “Beaujolais as a region is doing great. It’s really well known, younger consumers are interested in it, it’s fresh and fruity and not particularly expensive compared to other French wine regions, so when Beaujolais Blanc appears I think it’s something that wine lovers will be interested in.
“I think it’s much better to go for that label and consumers who perhaps thought Beaujolais was always a red wine can try it and be curious about this new style,” Daskal continues.
As Beaujolais Blanc continues to grow and gain recognition as its own style, Geoffray says: “I would encourage wine growers from Beaujolais to put Beaujolais Blanc on the label. I think it’s a shame not to because there’s a lot of effort put in and we should be proud of our region and our soils. A few years ago it might not have been such an easy sell, but today it’s not the same and Beaujolais is back on the market as a more serious wine.”
